Nowadays, in this era of digitalization, we cannot think about our life without electronic gadgets. The devices make our life much easier. Every day various companies are bringing their latest electronic gadgets to the market across the world. We, the common people, are using the gadgets for a shorter period of time, then throwing the gadgets and buying new products according to our needs and budgets.
However, the old gadgets which we throw away are called e-waste. When you buy new gadgets, make sure to give the old ones to the electronics recycling center. This practice will clean our surrounding environment bit by bit. You may have thoughts about why you have to recycle the devices. What if you throw them into the landfill? Here, we have shared a few facts regarding e-waste.
E-waste is toxic for everybody
Most of the devices contain various harmful elements such as cadmium, mercury, flame retardants and lead. As we throw the devices into the landfill, the harmful elements spill from the devices and soak into the soil. After that, the hazardous materials are absorbed in the groundwater and we drink that water. As a result, people are suffering from cancer and organ damage.
E-waste is 70% of total toxic waste production
Generally, e-waste makes up 2% of the total landfill but it is almost 70% of total toxic waste production. It is really sad that only 20% of e-waste is recycled every year. The rest of the waste is thrown into the landfill.
Reduce Unemployment
Recycling e-waste not only saves energy consumption but also reduces unemployment. To do recycling, the companies need many people to perform labor and logistics. Electronics recycling service can require various new jobs across the United States including Houston and Texas.
Other Facts at a Glance
- There are various devices including cell phones that contain precious metals like gold or silver. Every year Americans throw their phones that contain a total of $60 million in gold/silver.
- 75 lbs of gold, 33 lbs of palladium, and 35.274 lbs of copper and 772 lbs of silver are recovered for every 1 million recycled cell phones.
- Did you know that recycling almost 1 million laptops saves energy that is equivalent to the electricity which 3,657 people can use in the United States?
- As reported by the EPA, e-waste is the fastest-growing municipal waste stream in the United States.
Recycle Your Old Gadgets
Now it’s time that we have to be aware of the harmful effects of e-waste and recycle the old gadgets as much as possible. To do that contact Innovative IT solutions.
